Harpies
Summary The Bird-like Women of the Saerrican Mountains are an unusual race. The race has a major oddity in that every member of its race is female. They are therefore unable to maintain their population internally, thus forcing them to interact with other races in order to ensure their own survival. One of the most interesting aspects of the Harpy anatomy is that they are somehow able to create offspring with nearly any humanoid creature. The fruits of these unions are always female, and bare aspects or traits from their father's race. Harpies are interchangably referred to as Saerricans. Breeds Within Harpy society these variant are referred to as Breeds, for example an Elfbreed Harpy is typically smaller and more lithe than a Humanbreed or Orcbreed Harpy. These Breeds each have a colloquial moniker used as shorthand within Saerrican society and are as follows: Common Breeds: Humanbreed - Eagles Elfbreed - Hawks Dwarfbreed - Owls Gnomebreed - Falcons Uncommon Breeds: Halflingbreed - Pigeons Orcbreed - Vultures Ifritbreed - Phoenix Serpentesbreed - Quetzals Oreadbreed - Rocs Aasimarbreed - Doves Tieflingbreed - Bats Undinebreed - Harriers Sylphbreed - Condors Of the breeds, all are treated equally, save for halflingbreeds. Pigeons are usually regarded as less beneficial to society as a whole, as they typically consume twice the resources of other breeds, making them quite rare as Saerricans typically do not seek out male halflings to reproduce with. Harpy Society If one generalization could be made about harpy society and the psyche of the harpy, is that they love gold. This insatiable love of gold is so great, that harpies love all things shiny, meaning they favor wearing trinkets and jewelry no matter how ill-fitted, unstylish, or simply worthless it may be, as long as it is shiny and interesting to look at. Due to the dependent nature of the harpy life-cycle, and their love of wealth, they tend to favor the life of a traveling merchant. This allows them to visit many settlements of other races, and to trade rare items for gold. The race is also famously litigious, and love making and modifying deals, barters, and contracts. It is said that the only thing a harpy values more than gold is ensuring it has many daughters, and that is generally guaranteed through the use of 'Breeding Contracts'. These are usually simple agreements they make with males they determine to possess positive traits to benefit their offspring and assist the race as a whole. In exchange for the males 'assistance' they are typically paid handsomely. Harpies tend to travel in merchant caravans of between two and twenty. Larger caravans usually have one or two tamed Rocs to carry crates of goods, and to act as guards in the event of an attack (or deal gone sour). Most other races tolerate, but generally never become friends with harpies. This is due to the transient nature of the harpy, and their disinterest in the day to day lives of non-harpies. Many communities find it beneficial to allow the traders access to their towns, as they bring valuable news, items, and gold. But, they are quick to see them off before they anger too many townsfolk with attempted Breeding Contracts. Harpies favor mixing with Elves and Humans over other races, as those offspring are generally seen as more attractive by other races, making it easier to continue the species. However, it is of note that they particularly favor mixing with Serpentes males, as the offspring are seen as the rarest and most exotic off all breeds. because of the rarity of Serpentes in general, and males in particular, a contract with one can easily reach the thousands of gold pieces. Harpies will never (rarely) form long term emotional attachments with outsiders,seeing them as opportunities for expanding their pockets and family lines. This is not to say that harpies never pair up or fall in love, it is just typically with another harpy. these pair-bonds are formed out of love and are the core of the Saerrican family unit, with the pair working together to raise the young of either harpy. Family structures are lead usually by the oldest or wisest member, sometimes called the Crone, or Matriarch. She will decide on various actions the family takes, and acts as a combination head of household and CEO. Harpies as Characters Racial Ability Modifiers: -2 STR -2 CON +2 CHA, Harpies tend to have slighter frames than land-bound races, with more brittle bones, however they are quick witted and comely. Flight: all harpies are able to fly at a base speed of 40ft, and gain a +4 bonus to the fly skill. fly is always considered a class skill for a harpy. Love of Shinies: All harpies love things that shine and jingle, they gain +2 to appraise checks and +2 to diplomacy checks when bartering Natural Attack: Harpies gain a talon attack, which deals 1d4 damage (1d3 small) Slow Stride: Due to their awkward leg and talon configuration, harpies have a slower than normal land speed (20ft) Lack of Hands: Because their arms are fully feathered wings, the race lacks hands, and therefore are unable to use any specialized tools that would require them. however the entire race is exceptionally skilled with using their talons for most activities and are able to wield weapons normally with them, as long as they are flying. a harpy is unable to carry weapons and walk at the same time. the only exception being the specialized Harpy Ungues Weapon. Paternal traits: Harpies gain certain abilities from their fathers race, these are in addition to the modifiers previously listed. Humanbreed - +2 to the ability score of their choice Elfbreed - +2 Dex, +2 Int, -2 Con Dwarfbreed - +2 Con, +2 Wis, -2 Cha Gnomebreed - +2 Con, +2 Cha, -2 Str Halflingbreed - +2 Dex, +2 Cha, -2 Str Orcbreed - +2 to the ability score of their choice Ifritbreed - +2 Dex, +2 Cha, -2 Wis Serpentesbreed - +2 Int, +2 Wis Oreadbreed - +2 Str, +2 Wis, -2 Cha Aasimarbreed - +2 Wis, +2 Cha Tieflingbreed - +2 Dex, +2 Int, -2 Cha Undinebreed - +2 Dex, -2 Wis, -2 Str Sylphbreed - +2 Dex, +2 Int, -2 Con